A Book Review of Andrew Carnegie's Book: "An American Four-in-Hand in Britain.""Nothing should be done that would tend to reduce diversity of talents in our [human] race. Everything should be done to increase it if possible; for it is through "variation" the progress of the [human] race has been achieved, and progress is the chief end of existence. "This is what we are here for, as is proven by the fact that progress from the lower to the higher has prevailed from the time this earth cooled and life began to appear. This is our God-like mission: that every individual in his day and generation push this march upward, so that each succeeding generation may be better than the preceding." Select the image or link below to read a review of "An American Four-in-Hand in Britain."
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A Book Review of B. C. Forbes' "Men Who Are Making the West."B. C. Forbes in "Men Who Are Making the West" rattles off the names of a literal list of Whos Who of "Eastern" American Industrialists:
I wonder how many of today's MBAs would recognize any of the western ranchers, industrialists, and bankers in this book by B. C. Forbes: "Men Who Are Making the West." I surely don't ask the question with any sense of superiority or intention of slighting a business education because I only recognized a few. Although B. C. Forbes is a little over-laudatory in his approach, he also presents solid facts that these men understood their responsibilities to their four stakeholders: customers, employees, shareholders and their shared societies. Select the image or link below to read the review of "Men Who Are Making the West." A Quote from Wigginton E. Creed on a Businessman's Obligations to Society."The high road to greater progress runs along the line of cooperation between business and the public. . . . The businessman must work out his own salvation, without asking or expecting too much from others. His attention must be concentrated as much upon what he can give to the cause of human progress as upon what he can get. . . . "At all times, the business man must be conscious of his obligation to help to right what seems wrong, or, in the light of more knowledge, may hereafter seem wrong. If he is slow to do this, if his attitude is recalcitrant, he may find himself overtaken by public ownership or strangled by regulatory legislation hastily applied and poorly conceived, an expression of retaliation and not of sound judgment. "He [or she] can avoid these results by recognizing the tendencies of intelligent public opinion and by cultivating an idealism which shall precede and not follow the public conscience. He [or she] must let the public know what he is doing and why." Wigginton Ellis Creed, 1923 Select the image or link below to read the book review of Forbes' "Men Who Are Making the West." Are Business Leaders Afraid of Sloan's Concept of "Coordinated Decentralization?"Are the chief executives who are breaking up the largest and best of America’s corporations making the right decision? Alfred P. Sloan would probably remark that the weakness in these institutions isn’t within the size and scope of their corporations, but in their top executives’ limited thinking and over-centralization of their organizations. Alfred P. Sloan’s book My Years with General Motors which was published in 1964 established his concept of leadership based on “coordinated decentralization.” A quote of Sloan’s from B. C. Forbes’ book the Automotive Giants of America published thirty-eight years earlier—in 1926, documents that this was not a new perspective for him but an overriding feature of his unique leadership style: “I never give orders. … It is better to appeal to the intelligence of a man than to the military authority invested in you. … You must grant a large measure of responsibility to the man placed in an important position. Such a man has, of course, unusual ability, unusual brains. But it is often hard to bring home to such a man in such a position that he does not know it all, and that he could profit by counselling with others. … “It is often extremely difficult to get a man [an executive] in the frame of mind where he will gladly seek to gather from other people in the organization what would offset … his [or her] own weakness. Yet this must be done in a large organization to bring about a maximum of efficiency and effectiveness.” Although this concept was not articulated directly by Watson Jr. when he reorganized the IBM Corporation after the death of his father, coordinated decentralization was at the heart of how the son kicked in the IBM’s growth afterburners. It is a concept that should be revitalized before breaking up the largest and best of our old American, industrialist-built institutions: IBM, General Electric, and Johnson and Johnson. Industrialist-minded chief executives understand that larger is better … easier to control … and easier to manage with coordinated decentralization … Chief executives must empower their top generals to lead but be ready to exercise a "coordinating influence" when necessary. Who are America's chief executives’ top counselors? Would they listen to Alfred P. Sloan? The country needs more industrialist-minded leaders like Alfred P. Sloan. Select the image or link below to read a review of Sloan's "My Years with General Motors." The 20th Century IBM Built Affordable Housing (Homes) for Its EmployeesHave American Corporations built homes for their employees?
Select image or the link below to read the full article Democracy Has Always Had Its Enemies Who Needed to Be ResistedIn 1947, the United States of America—after assisting the other democracies of the world to defeat the fascist leaders of Germany, Italy and Japan—faced a new threat: A Mao Tse-tung-lead Communist China and a Stalin-lead Russian Dictatorship. This article was written by a Senator from Wisconsin when being “American” was under attack by these dictators’ propaganda machines. The Honorable Alexander Wiley wrote: “A term that is frequently heard these days is: ‘Un-American.’ How can you and I be sure that it should not at times be applied to us—that we ourselves are really thinking in the American way, living in the American way, actually being American in our personal lives? The answer the Senator gave more than sixty years ago is as relevant today as then. The United States faces two new but eerily similar threats: a Xi Jinping-lead Communist China and a Putin-lead Russian Dictatorship. These two leaders have the same long-term goal as their predecessors: they would bring an end to any country that strives to provide its citizens with freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. I would reinforce as Woodrow Wilson did during World War I that this is not a struggle between our peoples—the people of the United States or the peoples of China or Russia—but against oppressive governments who enslave their own. Select image to take a "Little Constitutional Journey" or select the link below to read the full article by the Honorable Alexander Wiley. Thomas J. Watson and Booker T. Washington Used Light to Dispel DarknessSome individuals it seems—by their very nature, spew darkness. Such individuals have haunted mankind since the dawn of time. Others then react—albeit with good intentions—emotionally, but their emotions energize the darkness by increasing its vastness, its loneliness, its chill and foreboding. I prefer those who hold up a candle against the darkness and befriend those who draw near. Let us light our candles together against the darkness. Peter E. Greulich “Thomas J. Watson preferred to light a candle rather than to criticize the dark.” Reverend Gannon, Fordham University Booker T. Washington talked with his Tuskegee Institute students about the type of individual who only focuses on darkness in their lives. Select the image of link below to read his thoughts from a review of his book: Building Character. If you read the entire review, you might be surprised by what the southern papers wrote of this work and of Washington’s thoughts and deeds. They were drawn to his light!
Abraham Lincoln Understood and Articulated the Value of a Good Book.A young clergyman while dining with Abraham Lincoln displayed a belief similar to some who read my articles. This is a short excerpt from that conversation between the two men from J. E. Gallaher, Best Lincoln Stories: Tersely Told. “Abraham Lincoln remarked how much he felt the need of reading, and what a loss it was to a man not to have grown up among books. “The clergyman replied, ‘Men of force can get on pretty well without books. They do their own thinking instead of adopting what other men think.’ “ ‘Yes,’ said Mr. Lincoln, ‘but books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren’t very new, after all.’ ” Disregarding the irony of a minister questioning the value of books—the bible is a book, Abraham Lincoln captured how I feel when I read a great biography about a good man or woman. I find that many of today’s new thoughts—including my own, aren’t so original. I find my thoughts sometimes wither, sometimes change direction, or sometimes prosper anew under a spotlight that accurately unfolds a great man’s or woman’s life of achievement. The clergyman ended the passage with a straightforward statement of what seems obvious but rarely written of Mr. Lincoln: “He loved the things of the Spirit.” Select the image or link below to see a collection of biographies and other miscellaneous books from the past reviewed by this author and by others from the year of their publishing. In the 21st Century, IBM Has Lost Its Federated Business ModelThe United States and Canada are federations of states and provinces, respectively. We are friends. We are next-door neighbors. Putting cynicism—so rampant today—aside, there is no doubt that if either of our countries needed help, the one federation would rise to assist the other. It doesn’t require our two countries to sign treaties or to even shake hands; the democratic debate to come to the other’s aid would be a short one—probably just long enough to take the requisite, unifying vote to aid our brethren in liberty. This is a relationship of nations that is too unique in the world. It is a synergy not governed by fear or greed, but by a unique awareness that both our countries must be guided by a mutual and enlightened, self-interest. IBM at its strongest was also a federation—an international federation of businesses held together by a belief system of three words that encouraged a family spirit to cross international boundaries. But no longer. Select the image or link below to read the full article. The Story of How Hard It Was for IBM to Hire Back Its World War II Veterans“We have an obligation to our men and women overseas—nearly 5,000 in number—who have all been guaranteed jobs when they come home from the service of their country.” Thomas J. Watson Sr., IBM Systems Service Classes, April 9, 1945 Hiring back all its former employees upon their return from service during World War II was only the beginning for the 20th Century IBM and Tom Watson. After World War II, IBM developed job training and job adjustment programs for the handicapped. Thomas J. Watson Sr. and his shareholders implemented a policy of giving the returning veterans one- or two-weeks’ vacation between the time when they reported back to the company after the war and when they started work—a wartime to peacetime readjustment period paid for by the company. Tom Watson was also proud of the fact that the company prioritized hiring back servicemen who had not worked for the corporation. This is the story of how difficult it was to hire these veterans. Yet, IBM did it! To read the whole story select the image above or the button below. America Needs More Industrialist-Minded Chief Executive OfficersIf anyone had used the term “capitalist” in reference to Henry Ford of Ford Motor Company, he would have been offended to the point of apoplexy. Like him, most 20th Century industrialists would have wondered at an individual’s ignorant usage of the term, but all of them would have quickly corrected the person with a simple statement: "I am not a capitalist. I'm an industrialist. I building something to last.” Yet, without a doubt, the majority of Americans think of these early men of the 20th Century as exemplary "capitalists." Although exemplary, they did not think of themselves as capitalists – far from it. These individuals preferred the term and classification of "industrialist." Select the image or the icon below to read the entire article. Hiring World War II Veterans Was the Right Thing But a Hard Thing To Do.“We have an obligation to our men and women overseas—nearly 5,000 in number—who have all been guaranteed jobs when they come home from the service of their country.” Thomas J. Watson Sr., IBM Systems Service Classes, April 9, 1945 With the explosion of two atomic bombs, World War II came to an unexpectedly sudden halt. Many industrialists were not ready for this quick end. They had failed to plan to “reconvert” their industrial production from a government-funded, wartime footing back to a consumer-driven, peacetime economy. When discussing the “reconversion” problem, Tom Watson predicted that the biggest problem wouldn’t be in the reconversion of producing peacetime products but in the reintegration of the men and women who had served overseas. He was right. To read about the problems IBM and the country faced with re-employing millions of soldiers after World War II, select the image or the icon below. Freedom of Speech is Founded on an Obligation to Listen"With every privilege there is also an obligation. The obligation for the individual and for corporations which have had an opportunity in this country to make a lot of money is to repay for that privilege by paying taxes and not complaining about it." Thomas J. Watson Sr., December 5, 1942, IBM Family Event When we stand today for the freedom of speech in this country, what is our most sacred obligation to preserve this wonderful freedom and ensure it remains strong for the individual, communities of likeminded individuals, and the press? I would propose that it is an obligation to give fair hearing to each other: An Obligation to Listen. Or, as my father used to tell me when I was a know-it-all teenager, "Son, God gave you two eyes, two ears, one brain, and a single mouth. Take the hint from Him who created all things: Observe and listen, and then engage your brain before opening your mouth. To read how Tom Watson was taken to task by Drew Pearson in "The Washington Merry-Go-Round" for his taxpayer statement above, select the image or icon below. You may also find a story of two men listening to each other to resolve a misunderstanding. Don't we need a little more of this in politics, business, and spiritual matters today? Select the image or link below to read about Thomas J. Watson Sr.'s "Tax Problem." How Thomas J. Watson Sr. Helped Fund the IBM Employees' Retirement PlanWhen I started my research on Tom Watson and IBM in 2011, I saw this entry in the IBM Annual Reports: "The Watson Fund for Supplementing the IBM Retirement Plan." Of course, I thought it was money set aside for Tom Watson's retirement. Isn't that what most 21st Century Chief Executives would have done? Through on-going research, I learned that this fund was set up by Tom Watson for the benefit of his employees. This is an amazing, forgotten slice of IBM history about how IBM's Retirement Plan was started and supplemented over time … … with Tom Watson Sr.'s generosity. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of how IBM's corner office has changed in this new century. That which one exemplary 20th Century chief executive made possible for his employees, three 21st Century chief executives—two men and one woman—have exploited to pump up profits and earnings per share for personal gain. This is not a problem with the system of capitalism. It is a problem with the internal moral character of IBM's leadership.
Peter E. Greulich Select the image or link below to read about "The Founding of IBM's Retirement Plan." A. W. Shaw Writes That "A Leader's Habits Are Contagious."“Many a man in charge of others snarls at his employees simply because the man who held the job before him and under whom he was trained had cultivated the fine art of snarling. An equally pertinent observation is that the pleasant-mannered employee usually reflects the attitude of a similarly pleasant-mannered boss. "Habits are catching. An executive’s daily attitude toward those in his employ becomes a habit. And the sum total of the relations of all the executives in all their relations with employees is the labor policy of that business in action.” A. W. Shaw, Management and the Worker Today, wouldn't we call such an environment a culture of corporate snarling? And doesn't this concept apply in all aspects of life: economic, political, spiritual, and even parental?
Peter E. Greulich Select the image or link below to read the reviews of A. W. Shaw's Trilogy on "Management and the Worker." The History Behind Women Entering the Automation Workforce at IBMAs our research of Tom Watson Sr. enters the year 1944, we have updated the information of "firsts" for the women of IBM. World War II was raging in full in Europe and Asia. U.S. and Canadian IBM men and women were putting their lives on the line in both arenas and their spouses and children were doing their best to support them in the conflict back home. The struggle opened up opportunities for women and the timeline is now updated with a few new "firsts" we have discovered. Some were directed from headquarters. Some were taken by individual branch managers who seemed to have acted on Tom Watson's ideals of "THINK and ACT." One branch manager appears to have ensured that the company could keep servicing their customers. He sent women on service calls to repair his customers' hardware. The women came through! Select the image or link below to read about the "Women of IBM." A Review a Ray Stannard Baker's "Woodrow Wilson: Life and Letters" Volume VI.This is the third in a series of reviews of Ray Stannard Baker's "Woodrow Wilson: Life and Letters." Of the eight-volume biography of the former President of the United States, we have now read and reviewed three volumes:
“Mr. Baker is careful to show, he [Woodrow Wilson] was never a pacifist in the full sense of the term, and his ultimate entry into war was no inconsistency of principle. War was to him [Woodrow Wilson] a dire last resort to be avoided at almost any cost, and the tragic interest of this volume lies in the gradual closing round him of the facts and forces which made the keeping out [of World War I] impossible." IBM's 1943 World War II National War Bond AdvertisementsIn 1943, Thomas J. Watson Sr. and IBM ran well over 1,000 war-bond advertisements across the United States encouraging Americans to buy bonds to support the World War II war effort. This does not include an additional set of war-bond campaign advertisements that also ran across Canada. To convey the level of commitment of IBM and its chief executive officer to supporting their economic system of capitalism and their democratic political system, the six individual war-bond campaigns are listed below:
Select the image or the link below to read about these war-bond campaigns and the timing of their release. Woodrow Wilson Quotes from "Woodrow Wilson: Life and Letters."These are a few insights from Woodrow Wilson or about him by Ray Stannard Baker. Baker was Woodrow Wilson's biographer with complete, unhindered access to the former President's personal papers. These are from the the volume entitled: Woodrow Wilson: Life and Letters - "Facing War 1915-1917." "Do you know what is the hardest job in being President? ... It is the difficulty of keeping your temper." Woodrow Wilson, "The Break with Germany" "Woodrow Wilson presents in the deepening summer of 1916 the tragedy that so often accompanies the power and responsibility of great place: not only the loneliness, but the essential helplessness, of supreme leadership." Ray Stannard Baker on "The Emotions and Sympathies Aroused by the War" "Wilson's great power--and he knew it well--was in speaking to the people. Strange gift for the kind of man he really was: the scholar and thinker, intellectually sensitive and discriminating, hesitant in individual human contacts, he had yet a potent gift of popular leadership. He could be more intimate and confidential with five thousand people than with one. "His genius had in it far more of the gift of the poet and the prophet than that of the politician." Ray Stannard Baker on "Campaign and Election 1916"
Quotes from Famous Industrialists of the 20th CenturyThis page has a few quotes that readers probably haven't seen anywhere else. These quotes are documented with (1) the individual who said or wrote the memorable phrase and (2) the source to ensure accuracy and authenticity. Two quotes are included here. "The president who thinks that his company exists mainly to supply stock quotations is in exactly the same case with the workman who looks at his day's work not as a means of doing something, but as a means of getting money without exertion." Samuel Crowther, Common Sense and Labor, 1920 "Wealth can no more be safely created and permanently held by the mere shuffling of securities, than character can be created by shuffling cards." John Wanamaker, Wanamaker's Golden Jubilee, 1911 Follow the link or select the image to read more. How an Executive Can Get an Employee to Let Their Guard DownHere is an article on why employers and employees need to "Let Their Guard Down" in order to run an efficient and effective business. Getting a person to let their guard down is not easy. Just verbalizing the words raises a person’s defenses. It is as if the suggestion, alone, raises obstacles. First, a person has to consider the source. If a spectator advises a boxer—as he enters the ring—to let his guard down, the outsider probably doesn’t have the pugilist’s best interests at heart. The timing of the advice betrays a concern over a wager, not the boxer’s safety. Second, a person has to consider the setting. A young football player letting his guard down as he digs in to protect his quarterback is not good mental discipline; yet the same player must have the discipline—if he doesn’t want to repeat the same mistake on the next play—to hear the coach’s advice. No matter the timing, an employee’s guard must come down to hear an executive. A true coach sets the right environment so that an employee will be most receptive to the message. To get a person to let down their guard, a consistent, predictable, and positive coaching action works best, not words. Peter E. Greulich, Writer, Public Speaker and Self-Publisher Select image to read full article Peter E. Greulich's "Discerning Readers" Website Is Getting Up and Running.Thanks for visiting. It may look like we are just now getting up and running on our https://www.discerningreaders.com website. This is true only in that it is taking us time to gather and post up the articles that have already been written by Peter E. Greulich.
We should have over 300 pages of information by Peter E. Greulich posted within the next few weeks: (1) historical information on the 20th Century IBM, (2) data-driven information on the 21st Century IBM, (3) articles on business, politics and fiction, and last but not least (4) great, detailed book reviews from America's past. Meanwhile, enjoy the articles as we post them. Once we are completed, we will announce it here and start posting up blog entries each week. Cheers, - Pete Herbert Hoover's Quote on the Relationship between Hindsight and Foresight.Hindsight is always more certain than foresight. . . . But the hindsight gained from being "singed by fire" is good training for acquiring foresight. Herbert Hoover and Hugh Gibson,, The Problems of Lasting Peace But only if we learn from those mistakes that "singe" us, and as Tom Watson expected . . . don't make the same mistake twice. Peter E. Greulich, Author, Publisher and Public Speaker
Challenging Forbes' 2020 World's Best EmployersNo, I do not have the data with which to offer a knowledgeable opinion if Samsung Electronics or Amazon deserve the #1 and #2 spots, respectively, on Forbes’ 2020 Best Employers list. I do have enough data and experience, though, to have serious doubts if IBM deserves to be recognized as the world’s third-best employer. Thankfully, we live in a democracy supported by an economic system that encourages the free flow of information and divergent opinions. After reading this article—whether you agree or disagree—your thoughts are appreciated and will be respected. Let’s start with one of my favorite sayings from B. C. Forbes, the founder of Forbes. “With All Thy Getting, Get Understanding.” B. C. Forbes, Forbes, “Fact and Comment” editorial tagline Forbes went out "getting" information, but did they "get understanding?" Peter E. Greulich Select the image or link below to read the full article. Elbert H. Gary, President of U.S. Steel Did Not Listen to Wall Street."Gentlemen, we do not manage our corporation for the stock market. . . . "If I were a speculator on the Stock Exchange, buying today in the hope of selling tomorrow, . . . I might be glad to have the management of a corporation take some action in . . . declaring dividends . . . which temporarily advanced the prices of securities. . . . [Then] leaving management to shoulder the trouble—if it came afterwards … [and] the action proved to have been improvident." Judge Elbert H. Gary, President of U.S. Steel IBM has spent $201 billion since 1995 on share buybacks (repurchases). I wonder if Arvind Krishna wishes that he had some of those dollars spent by his three predecessors on paper to now invest in people, processes, and products Peter E. Greulich
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Peter E. GreulichPeter E. has been studying IBM and early American corporate history since his retirement in 2011. These are his thoughts and musings, and of those whose biographies and autobiographies he has read with links to articles and book reviews on this website. Contact the author directly.
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